Above The Light
by The Odd Dreamer
Summary: AU They lived in a world of perpetual light and neon. Above that was darkness. But is that really all there is? What will you find if you keep going up? RokuAku


Well, here it is, my first ever story on this website. I hope you will enjoy it.

* * *

Higher and higher he climbed.

Up the endless black skeletons of the buildings.

Far above the neon sky that marked the topmost edge of his world, the never ending drone of sound that cocooned everything, little more than a whisper from below.

_Damn, stupid Seifer._ His mind grumbled.

He had no one but himself to blame for his ascent up the buildings. He could have simply _not_ taken Seifer's bet to climb to the very top of the buildings, but he could never resist a chance to prove his lifelong enemy wrong. Nobody called him a coward.

Really, the challenge seemed quite simple: climb to the top of the buildings and take a photo as evidence.

Of course, to anyone living in the cities, the known world was two miles high, because that's as high as the buildings went. The vast screens spanning the distance between those buildings, displaying a million different advertisements every day, were the upper boundary of the world. Those screens were the two mile mark, where the world stopped. So it was only logical to think that all he needed to do was take a lift to the highest floor and sneak up to the top.

Just a simple ladder and a hatch were all there was between him and the unknown above the neon.

To his surprise and dismay, the only things that stopped at the two mile mark were the walls, the floors and the lights. It was like someone had cancelled construction right after the foundation was built. There were even the occasional sheets of shredded plastic hanging off the beams like the torn remnants of flesh.

Having never experienced total darkness before, he had honestly thought he'd reached outer space.

After a long sit while his eyes adjusted to the dark, he realized that while his world had stopped, the buildings did not. And he begrudgingly continued his ascent.

Unfortunately, what had been a short, simple wait on a lift, was now a several hour vertical climb in the dark.

"Damn, stupid Seifer," he grumbled once again, this time aloud.

Arms exhausted from using beams and pipes to hoist himself up the layers, he found a metal sheet on which to lie down and rest.

Aside from his own ragged breathing, everything was so quiet, like the world had just stopped.

It was strange to find complete silence so comforting.

Usually, complete silence meant the rare night he hadn't found someone to spend it with. He shouldn't've found it so peaceful. Without the constant cacophony of sound, his mind was blissfully empty.

_What the hell am I doing?_ He thought to himself. _Why did I agree to this?_

Now that his mind was clear enough to actually think about it, he hadn't agreed to this just because Seifer was an asshole. It had been something different. Hundreds of new songs, movies, tv shows and video games available to him every day, a completely different person to spend every night with, everyone belonging to everyone.

It had gotten boring.

At least, that was what he had told himself. Why would he choose to leave all that? For a minimum amount of work, he could have any form of entertainment he wanted. Electronics, people, electronic people, endless euphoria.

"That's it, I'm going home."

So what if Seifer called him a wuss, he'd simply get his hand stitched up after breaking the bastard's teeth, then go with his friends to an arcade or go see a film, and then find someone to share a bed with.

Simple, normal.

"Alright, then."

As he braced himself for the precarious leap to a beam one level below, there was a slight tingle at the back of his mind.

Something had changed in the dark, homogeneous silence.

Instinct was telling him something was off, like it was suddenly _too quiet_. But that was impossible, this constant stillness was the out of place thing, not... whatever this new thing was.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as every instinct told him to stay still.

Then he felt it.

Through the platform and metal beams he felt an odd vibration. Faint, like it was small or far away, but getting closer.

When a low sound began to accompany the feeling, he realized it wasn't a vibration, but a rhythmic shaking of the building, itself.

As the sound got closer and louder, he scrambled up and made for the edge of the derelict building, unsure of what to expect as the idea of actually feeling fear was completely new to him.

Looking over the side of the building, he was confused when he was greeted by a vast abyss, the sound was so thunderous, it _had_ to be close!

Then he saw it, far off to the right and a few layers down, a faint glow of red light, like a torch.

It wavered from side to side in time with the loud rumbling. The red glow narrowing as whatever this massive thing was drew closer.

Finally, a pair of large mechanical arms appeared around the corner. Gripping the foundations of the buildings, the snakelike arms brought a -slightly ovaled- black sphere into view, followed quickly by another pair of segmented arms. The sphere seemed to be balanced precariously from where the arms came together on the bottom of it, giving it the look of a large, bulbous, four-armed octopus. How the machine did not topple over, he had now idea. As the towering machine turned the corner and moved towards him, he saw that the red light was actually a cluster of small lights on the front of the machine's sphere.

The red cluster seemed to rotate and focus on him, the sphere turned atop it's four arms and made it's way up towards him.

Having to clutch a nearby beam to keep from falling as the machine shook the foundation, he watched, hypnotized, as the array of red lights drew closer.

The massive sphere stopped a few feet from him and just stared. From this distance, he could see the apertures behind the individual lights opening and closing as the machine studied him. Mind finally beginning to clear, he saw one of the clawed arms rearing back.

Diving out of the way right before the wide pincer could grab him -thankfully not falling off the platform- he saw the massive metal limb crush the beam he had just been using to balance. With the little space left on the platform, he took a running leap over the large space between sheets just in time to dodge another grasping pincer.

Heart thundering in his ears, he fled towards the inner part of the foundation, running along beams and hopping across the scattered platforms, all the while hoping the machine would be too large to follow. That hope was lost, however, as a deafening metallic sound came screeching through the air.

He looked over his shoulder to see the massive construct tearing at the metal beams and ripping the sheeting like cheap paper as it forced its sphere through the building.

He kept running until he came to a skidding halt on the other side of the structure. Looking out he could see another building, but he knew that even with the beams reaching for each other like arms across the abyss, he'd never make the jump. The machine seemed to notice this as well as it had stopped trying to tear its way through and was now scrambling around the outside of the building to get to him.

Mind running on pure adrenalin and instinct, he ran back towards the center of the structure, far away from the grasping arms. Spying a cluster of pipes snaking their way up through the center of the building, he used them to climb further up.

Muscles sore and hands raw from his initial climb, fear was the only thing that kept him moving. He was several layers up when he heard the machine reach the other side of the building. Daring to look down, he saw the red light illuminate where he'd been standing moments ago. Through the foundation, he could see the sphere moving back and forth as the red lights searched for him. He held his breath as the construct hung there a few seconds longer, then it pulled back two arms and slammed them against the building in a frustrated way, almost causing him to fall from the pipes and almost losing its own balance in the process. It then made its way down, red lights frantically scanning the derelict building for its prey.

Mind covered in a blinding cloud of fear, he continued his scrambling climb up the pipes.

The world once again returned to the quiet stillness as the loud clanging of the machine was reduced to little more than a faint vibration traveling up the pipes.

He vaguely wondered if running form the machine was such a good idea. For all he knew it would've just carried him back down below the neon. But then he remembered those crushing pincers and the frenzied way it tore at the building and chased after him.

No, that _thing_ was not a friend.

_There must be something up here for something like _that_ to be prowling around_.

As he got further up he noted that there seemed to be less and less building around him. The pipes abruptly ended not with more skeletal beams, but at a large, open, metal floor. The layers, themselves, still seemed to continue, but there seemed to be more flooring and more space between them, with the occasional bit of wall, as well.

He felt something unusual move past him, making his clothes move and ruffling his blond locks.

_Strange. I don't hear any vents_.

He did hear a light whistling and the far off flapping of a plastic sheet as the fan-like sensation moved through the buildings.

Then it hit him.

Wind!

This was wind he was feeling. He'd heard about it in movies and songs. It was strange, there was a warmness to it, so unlike the cooling vents of his home. It felt alive as it moved and changed direction and strength as it swirled around him.

He smiled, fear slowly leaving his mind, as it danced around him a little longer before fading away.

He found a nearby ladder and continued his way up. He noted that while the layers got steadily narrower, the beams that used to reach for each other from across the buildings now joined each other in a seemingly delicate latticework of metal.

The wind occasionally swirled around him as he continued his climb, almost as if it was encouraging him to move further up.

Something about his head felt different as he walked across a floor to find a new ladder when he reached the end of the first one. His mind didn't feel disturbingly hollow without the constant sensations bombarding him from all sides, it felt light and clear. He marveled at the calm stillness, the wind twirling around him. To be able to simply hear his own tired, but calm breaths was amazing.

The warm feeling abruptly ended as a sudden cold feeling raced along his spine and the metal around him began to shudder.

_Bang._

_Bang._

_Bang... Bang._

_ Bang.__Bang.__Bang.__Bang.__Bang._

_BANG__BANG__BANG__BANG__BANG__BANG__BANG_  


The fear roared its way back into his mind as a red light like hellfire illuminated the abyss.

Instinct once again taking over, he ran for the open net of metal on the opposite side of the building. Not daring to look back as he heard the construct tear its way up through the the metal beams.

He was halfway across a neighboring building when the machine broke through the layer and the red lights settled on him. The machine giving chase, overtaking him easily in the near open air of the upper floors.

Fatigue catching up to him just as quickly as the machine, he found himself cornered by an unexpectedly wide tangle of pipes and wall. Not knowing where else to go he turned and flattened himself against the barrier as the sphere and its grasping pincers drew closer.

* * *

A disk of orange and yellow light arced through the air and exploded against the machine right as he was about to close his eyes against the death he was sure was coming.

From the same direction a black clad figure sprinted towards the toppled over machine, leapt onto it and pulled a large spike wheel from where the fiery disk had hit the cluster of lights.

The figure raised a second spiked wheel and slashed at the great sphere, landing several brutal blows before leaping back as the machine righted itself. The stranger gave the wheels a quick twirl, after which they were engulfed in flames, and threw the flaming disks at the machine's snaking arms.

The machine stumbled back as the disks once again exploded on contact, the cloaked figure following close behind, chucking bursts of fire on the way.

Once again retrieving the wheels and leaping back, the stranger relit the deadly spikes before charging at the machine.

Instead of striking with one of its powerful arms, the machine stopped the headlong attack with a blinding bolt of electricity from a raised pincer.

He watched in horror as the stranger's body went rigid before crumpling to the ground, spiked wheels disappearing into thin air as they fell.

The sphere's red lights stayed on the fallen figure as the machine staggered upright.

Fear keeping him rooted in place, he could only watch, terrified, as one of the crushing pincers reached for the strange person.

"YOU FREAKING MORON!" A high pitched voice shouted as a new pair of cloaked figures ran towards their fallen comrade.

One of the newcomers slid to the fallen one's side, raising a spiked, shield-like object, which successfully blocked the striking arm. The other threw objects too small to see, that released yellow bolts of electricity when they struck the machine.

Lightning travelled up and down the machine's frame, the array of lights flickered and died, plunging the area back into darkness as the towering construct topped over.

After retrieving the small objects from the sphere, the two newcomers turned their attention to the fallen figure.

There was some rushed murmuring form the one with the shield, then the other placed their hand on the fallen one's chest. A _bzzt_ sound accompanied a small flash of light from the thinner of the two's hand.

He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding as the fallen figure coughed back to consciousness.

The first stranger waved off the other's assistance as the three stood up, the first only a little unsteady.

The relief was short lived, however, as a whirring sound came from the fallen sphere, red lights flickering one by one back to life and metal arms twitching.

"SCATTER!" the one with the shield shouted, said object disappearing as they spoke.

The first stranger ran at him as the other two bolted in opposite directions, hoisting him up and carrying him under one arm away from quickly reanimating machine.

He turned in the other's grip, arms clamping around lean shoulders as fear once again coursed through him. This new feeling becoming all too familiar as he tightened his fingers on the the dark fabric of the stranger's coat. He was barely able to hold back a whimper as he felt his savior leap skillfully between the tall buildings, the thunderous sound of the pursuing machine following far too close.

He thought it was all over when the machine overtook them so quickly, but instead of sweeping arms or crushing pincers, a blindingly white flash came from the array of lights. He feared for their lives as his savior stumbled, having also gotten a face full of the blinding flash.

Staggering, the stranger kept moving, blindly following several twists and turns, the snapping pincers just barely missing them.

Next thing he knew they were crammed into some dark corner, stranger moving to shield him form the searching red lights. Both held their breath as the red glow illuminated their hiding spot. He buried his face in the other's chest, noting that this person was a tall male, he could hear the stranger's frantic heartbeat as the machine moved closer.

After inspecting the hiding spot for several heart stopping moments, the machine moved on.

Breathing a sigh of relief, the stranger moved him onto their back and carried him at a swift, but less frantic place through the vast empty buildings.

* * *

What do you guys think so far?

Critique is much appreciated.

This came to me in a dream, one of those dreams where you only see one super detailed scene and you know everything that's going on and the story behind it.

This was also my first ever dream that had Kingdom Hearts characters. You have no idea how happy I was. For the first time I knew I had to get this down on paper.

What you just read is pretty much the entire dream, plus much more detail.

I can't guarantee any update regularity as I only have this first chapter written, the rest are planned. But I can promise that any story I start _will_ be completed. I have no intention of leaving you guys hanging.

Look forward to my next chapter.


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